Fallout: New Vegas dev diary and forum bits

I enjoy talking about our work and I have the good fortune to be able to do so to the press and fans, but I worry that it obfuscates the immense volume of human time, headaches, frustration, and creative passion that goes into making something of this scale. This is not the result of one person's ideas, the fruit of one person's labor. And though the press and fans have emphasized the connection between the Obsidian of today and Black Isle of days gone by, I believe it diminishes the role of both Bethesda, in developing Fallout 3, and the myriad developers at Obsidian who are coming to Fallout for the first time. Without their creativity and drive, this game could never have been made.

Personally, I don't think twists/reversals of that sort add complexity or depth. It's kind of a cheap trick, on par with extending a pop song's length by changing the key.

I think it's more interesting to give the player a basic initial impression of a person or group and layer on complexity and depth over time. I think John and the designers did a good job of making the groups feel like they are comprised of individuals with their own motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. With very few exceptions, I always found someone or something to love in a group and someone or something to hate.